Category: Jihadi

By Saima Baig Orlando, Istanbul, Bangladesh and now one of the worst attacks in Iraq. The last few days of Ramzan have seen more bloodshed and less peace and love from the caretakers of Islam. Of course, we had widespread global condemnation, followed by the usual blame on western foreign policy by some, certain people fearing that this makes Islam look bad, and the overall placing of blame firmly on all Muslims by others. And most importantly, there was the complaint of why the attacks on Muslim countries did not…

By Ammar Anwer Islamism is a serious threat to humanity. The harm that it has caused, and continues to cause, is indescribable, unspeakable and extremely horrendous. The most saddening aspect of this aching cruelty is that it has damaged the reputation of the entire Muslim community around the world Although its extremist tactics have affected the entire human community across the globe, but the ones who have also suffered are peaceful Muslims, who carry the pain of the entire humanity in their hearts; those who do not hate other fellow…

By Tehmina Kazi In what appears to be the worst mass shooting in US history, 29-year-old Omar Mateen opened fire in a gay Florida nightclub at 2am on Sunday, killing 50 people and injuring up to 53 others. Orlando sheriff Jerry Demings called the shooting a “domestic terror incident” and the FBI — who already had Afghan-American citizen Mateen on their radar — are now investigating his links to terror groups abroad. His father, Mir Seddique, claimed that Mateen’s motives were not religious, and that he had been incensed…

By Iram Ramzan There is a phrase in Punjabi, which roughly translates as, “The one who has not yet seen Lahore, has not been born.” I certainly felt alive whenever I visited this vibrant capital city of the Punjab in Pakistan. In the past, I have visited my grandparents’ village in Kashmir several times. There was nothing to do, nothing to see, no one with whom I could speak . I felt suffocated, itching for the chance to get out of there as soon as I could. That feeling of misery and boredom would…

By Shamila Ghyas This is a cross-post from The Nation Another day, another blast. More innocent deaths. At least 34 people were killed after explosions ripped through Brussels airport and metro station. With over a 100 injured, many critically; the toll number is expected to rise. Eyewitnesses say that after hearing the loud boom, they were literally blown back by its force. There was a lot of blood in the elevators as ceilings started to collapse in the affected areas. Just imagine you are at the airport…

By Kunwar Khuldune Shahid This is a cross-post from The Nation Two very significant recent events have evoked identically counter-productive, nay self-defeating, reactions from Pakistani and global Muslims respectively. The Jamaat-e-Islaami led religious parties’ meeting in Mansoora unanimously condemned the Women Protection Act as ‘un-Islamic’ last week, while the Brussels attacks on Tuesday killed 34 people and injured over 200. Both events exhibit the ugliest shades of Islamism, and both were met with defensiveness about Islam from various sections. As has become the norm, every global act of jihadist terrorism…